Cyclones Vegas Bound For Cliff Keen Invitational

AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State wrestling team (5-1 overall, 1-0 Big 12) heads west for the first time this season to compete in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The highly touted tournament features 33 teams from across the nation, including 12 of which are in the top-25 of the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll.

Cyclone Notebook- No. 3 Kyven Gadson has a 20-match dual win streak dating back to Nov. 25, 2012 vs. Old Dominion.- No. 5 Michael Moreno is 9-1 overall and 4-1 in duals after suffering his first loss of the season to No. 4 Nick Moore of Iowa, 3-1. The Urbandale, Iowa, native leads the 2013-14 Cyclones in dual takedowns with 18. - Redshirt freshman Lelund Weatherspoon leads the 2013-14 Cyclones in overall wins (10) and dual wins (5). The Jackson, Mich., native suffered the first dual loss of his career vs. No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa on Dec. 1 in Hilton Coliseum. Weatherspoon, wrestling up a weight from 174 pounds at 184 pounds, was defeated by Lofthouse, 4-0.- Sophomore Earl Hall leads ISU in pins with three pins. The Homestead, Fla., native narrowly beat No. 4 Cory Clark of Iowa, but fell 8-7 because of riding time. Hall, known for his explosive offensive moves, had Clark in trouble twice in the match after pulling off two of his signature cement mixers. - The Cyclones’ 20-15 win over Old Dominion on Nov. 24 was the 700th dual win all-time vs. active Division I opponents.

Last Time Out- The Cyclones suffered their first dual loss of the season 23-9 to No 3 Iowa. - ISU won three bouts, including an OT win from heavyweight Quean Smith (the first dual win of his career) and a last second victory by 149-pounder Luke Goettl. - The other win for ISU came at 197-pounds from All-American Kyven Gadson. The Waterloo, Iowa, native won his 20th straight dual match, defeating Iowa’s Sammy Brooks 3-2. After scoring an early takedown, Gadson managed the match the rest of the way en route to victory. - Gadson’s win moved him to 8-1 overall on the season and 5-0 in duals. His only loss on the year is to No. 1 Scott Schiller of Minnesota. Gadson fell 3-2 to Schiller in the championship match of the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open back on Nov. 16.- Though the Hawkeyes held a 7-3 match advantage, four of their wins came in matches that could have gone either way.